Beethoven: Piano Quartets

New Zealand Piano Quartet (Artist, Performer), Ludwig van Beethoven (Composer), -- (Conductor) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: New Zealand Piano Quartet
• Conductor: --
• Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven
• Audio CD (May 26, 2009)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Naxos
• ASIN: B0020MSTI6
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #186,643 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Fanfare, Jerry Dubins, Nov/Dec 2009

Even those well acquainted with Beethoven's work list might be excused for asking, "Whose piano quartets are these?" Mention of Beethoven and piano quartet in the same breath customarily evokes recognition of but a single work, the op. 16 Piano Quartet in E♭ Major, which is itself an arrangement by the composer of his Quintet in E♭ Major for piano and winds. Naxos was wise, however, not to claim a premiere recording coup, for at least one other recording I know of with the Scheuerer Quartet on the Koch Discover International label has been gathering dust in the cutout bins for ages. Others may also have existed at one time or another and possibly still do. These are, in fact, authentic Beethoven, written, according to note author Keith Anderson, when the composer was 15. They were published by Artaria posthumously, and are listed in the "without opus" catalog as three entries under number 36. Evidence of their authorship is established by the fact that Beethoven subsequently borrowed from them in his op. 2 piano sonatas.

Was Beethoven acquainted with Mozart's two masterful piano quartets? And if so, did he model these three teenaged works after them? It's possible, I suppose. At least Anderson seems to think so, claiming that "the spirit of Mozart hovers near." But I'm a bit dubious. Mozart completed his two piano quartets in 1785 and 1786, respectively. The ink would have been barely dry when Beethoven turned 15 and was still living under his parents' roof in Bonn. Would Mozart's works have traveled that quickly from Vienna to Bonn? It's more likely, I think, that Beethoven would have had an opportunity to hear Mozart's piano quartets when he traveled to Vienna for the first time a year or so later, in 1787, in the hope of studying with Mozart; but if these three early works by Beethoven do date from 1785, as stated, then they must already have been written before his trip to Vienna. I'm not suggesting that Beethoven never heard or played a note of Mozart's music before he was 15; I just think it unlikely that Mozart's late piano quartets were the young composer's model. Haydn, to the best of my knowledge, wrote no piano quartets, but he did write lots and lots of piano trios; and my guess would be that they, more than anything by Mozart, were the young Beethoven's models. Let us remember that in addition to violin and piano lessons, Beethoven received instruction from a very young age on viola. It would have made perfect sense to him to augment the Haydn piano trio model with a part for viola he could play himself.

I will not disagree wholly with Anderson. Mozart was an important influence in Beethoven's life, and there are many moments in these piano quartets that do seem to exude a Mozartean spirit. The Rondo of the C-Major Quartet, for instance, is strongly suggestive of many a Mozart rollicking finale. The theme and variations movement of the E♭-Major Quartet, however, is made of sturdier, more straightforward Haydnesque stuff, albeit without Haydn's humorous touch. But what is truly amazing to me about these works, even a bit scary, is how much they already sound like the Beethoven we all know. How daring, for example, to begin the E♭-Major Quartet with a highly expressive Adagio assai movement. Or listen to the bold triadic outline in octaves, a commanding call to attention that announces the beginning of the D-Major Quartet; or the way the voices engage in an overlapping dialogue of throbbing poignancy in the Andante con moto of the same Quartet; or to the incipient flashes of Sturm und Drang that arise briefly and quickly subside at every turn throughout all of these works. Unlike Mozart, Beethoven was not a Wunderkind; he developed more slowly and later. Yet here, at 15, his imprint is already unmistakable.

The New Zealand Piano Quartet is not to be confused with the New Zealand String Quartet; they are two entirely separate ensembles with no member crossovers. I wish to emphasize this point, so as not to taint one ensemble with criticism of the other. According to Naxos, this is the New Zealand Piano Quartet's first recording for the label. I wish them better luck next time. No one player is completely guiltless (except for pianist Richard Mapp who has no control over the tuning of his instrument once recording has commenced), but I single out violist Donald Maurice whose intonation in the variations movement of the E♭-Major Quartet is--well, let's just say--north of the equator. Just listen to the variation that begins at 3:32. Violinist Yury Gezentsvey doesn't fare much better in his extended solo passage beginning at 2:44 in the second movement of the C-Major Quartet. It's too bad that going sharp and going flat don't cancel each other out, for Gezentsvey is above pitch as often as he is below it. C'mon guys, this is not difficult music. I shudder to think what Brahms's piano quartets would sound like in these hands.

It's regrettable that these performances could not have been better, for these youthful works by the budding Beethoven are surely worth knowing, and it's unlikely there will be another recording of them anytime soon. If you are not as sensitive to imprecise intonation as I am--it's a curse, I tell you--perhaps you can enjoy this disc without wearing a mouth guard to prevent you from clenching your teeth. Trust me, the music is worth it.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Forgotten Beethoven Rediscovered..., June 28, 2009

By 

Sébastien Melmoth (Hôtel d'Alsace, PARIS) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beethoven: Piano Quartets (Audio CD)

Forgotten Beethoven Rediscovered...
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In approaching these rarely-heard gems, it would be well to suppress any subtle prejudice against "juvenilia," and simply appreciate the works for what they are: early blossoms of incipient genius.
There is some very fine music here which stands on its own merit: for here we have neither Haydn nor Mozart, but Beethoven himself--albeit youthful.
This is one of the points J.W.N. Sullivan draws in his fine little tome of Beethoven's Spiritual Development: that Beethoven's organic growth of nous and psyche continued unabated throughout his life in tandem with the evolution of his art.
(In a naturalistic simile, we may consider the nautilus' shell which begins in a tight spiral and continuously unfolds following the lines of its design.)
Beethoven: His Spiritual Development
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The Piano Quartets WoO 36 date from 1785, and were found amongst Beethoven's papers after his death.
The works already feature Beethoven's tendency towards expansive breath of expression, vigourous manner, and innate good taste.

This nice recording displays the Quartets in their original compositional sequence, beginning with No. 3 in C-major which opens with a lively Allegro vivace, moving to an echt-Beethovenian characteristically dreamy Adagio con espressione, and concluding with a rustic Rondo.

No. 1 begins with a lovely Adagio which segues into an impassioned Allegro con spirito, concluding with a Cantabile theme and VI variations.
In examination of the text, Barry Cooper discerns from the orthography, "One cannot help suspecting that, even at the age of fourteen, Beethoven was technically a more advanced pianist than Mozart."
Cooper further notes characteristics of Beethoven in the dramatic dynamic range (pp to ff ) and the gravitas engendered by the use of the bizarre key of eb-minor in the Allegro--(a key Beethoven would have encountered from his study of Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier).
Here we have Beethoven already breaking out of the Classical mould in seeking his Romantic inner-vision.

No. 2 begins with an affirmative Allegro which quietly peters out, giving way to a pathetic Andante and a concluding spirited Rondo--by turns both graceful and humorous.
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Complete Beethoven Edition, Vol. 14: Misc. Chamber Works
The Glenn Gould Edition - Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good enough, April 23, 2010

By 

KenOC "Ken O/C" (SoCal) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Beethoven: Piano Quartets (Audio CD)

The attraction here is Beethoven's music, of course. Those interested in the early music of this extraordinary composer will certainly enjoy this disc. Mr. Dubin's review is quite accurate so I'll keep this short. If you listen to this music, you're likely to say, "Hey, this is first-class stuff. How come it's not better known?"

If you enjoy music in the classical style, you will certainly enjoy this. Regardless of Mr. Dubin's comments on intonation, I thank the New Zealand Piano Quartet for bringing us these gems.